Friends Never Say Goodbye
by Yuuki Miyaka
Summary: [yaoi] Heero confesses his love to Duo, only to discover that Wufei's done the same.


Disclaimer:  
Gundam Wing does not belong to me, nor do any of the characters found therein. This fic was not written for purposes of profit. The song Friends Never Say Goodbye comes from the movie The Road to El Dorado and is sung by Elton John.  
  
Warnings: Angst, yaoi.  
  
Friends Never Say Goodbye  
A Gundam Wing Songfic  
Written for Leah's B-day  
by: Yuuki Miyaka  
  
"Where's Duo?" Heero looked up at the question, eyes scanning the small common room in the safehouse the five boys were currently sharing. The safehouse itself was a wreck, without any amenities to recommend it. The only reason none of them minded was the sheer level of safety it provided within its four cracked and discolored walls. When Heero didn't immediately see the braided boy, he rose from where he sat at his laptop, stalking through the other three rooms before returning to the common room. He met Wufei's sable eyes with his own cobalt ones.  
"He's gone."  
Though his mouth spoke the statement flatly, his mind was still trying to process the idea, and he could see the same thoughts running through Wufei's mind. Where could Duo have gone? The streets outside were dangerous to anyone walking alone, even a Gundam pilot who had once been a street rat. Heero scowled, feeling the muscles of his face relax from the worried expression into a very familiar one. Not surprisingly, Wufei did the same. Even as they did so, Quatre spoke up from where he sat beside Trowa. "Why don't the two of you look for him? Trowa and I'll stay here in case he shows up." That said, Quatre turned on a small radio they had, listening to the news in an effort to determine whether he'd been taken by OZ.  
Heero nodded shortly. A mission. Granted it was one given by a friend, but a mission was still a mission. Ninmu ryoukai. He'd find the braided baka and drag him back by that chestnut tail. They could all see the determination in his eyes, and Heero read the same determination in the Chinese pilot's gaze. The two turned abruptly for the door, stalking through it with only one thought in their minds. Get Duo.  
"I'll head this way," Heero said testily, then strode off before Wufei could disagree. Heero knew that Duo would be okay. He could feel it within his gut, the same way he knew that whenever he'd head out to fight, the idiot would be behind him, covering him from rear-fire. As he prowled the streets, his mind wandered back over the times he and Duo had shared, from the undercover schools to the mass destruction of OZ facilities. There was a kinship there, Heero reflected thoughtfully, something he'd never expected to feel. It was deeper than friendship, more than brotherhood. He assumed it must be love, though he'd certainly never felt such a sensation before.  
  
There isn't much I haven't shared  
With you, along the road.  
And through it all there'll always be  
Tomorrow's episode.  
  
Dr. J had been wrong about relationships and fighting. Before, he'd always fought because it was his mission. True, there had been no reason to turn *any* mission down, but there had also been no real reason to agree to fight any of them. There had been no reason to his life, in fact. Now, with the others, he had a reason. To protect them. And Duo's protection was always at the forefront of his mind. Of them all, he valued Duo's life the most. And he thought that perhaps Duo felt the same for him.  
As that thought crept into his mind, he resolved to talk it over with Duo. He had no reason to be embarrassed. He was the Perfect Soldier. He'd discovered a weakness, and was bent on eliminating it. And Duo was the expert at feelings, he reflected. Duo would certainly be able to help him understand and utilize this new strength to its greatest capacity. Even as he decided this, he saw a familiar form standing in the street before him. Two familiar forms, he realized, as he noticed Wufei standing just before Duo, the two of them talking quietly. He headed toward them, arriving just in time to hear Wufei choke out three words as though they would strangle him. Duo's eyes widened in shock and Heero's stomach caved in at the sentence. "Ai shiteru, Duo."  
  
Suddenly, that isn't true.  
There's another avenue  
Beckoning, the great divide.  
Ask no questions, take no sides.  
  
Heero scowled. How DARE he? But even as he thought it, he shoved the unworthy thought away. They all had to strive to be their best for the coming battles, else they'd lose. He couldn't blame Wufei for realizing this strength and acting on it. Just as Duo was about to answer, he cleared his throat. The two spun around, staring at Heero in shock, and the Wing pilot stared right back. "He-Heero," Duo said, surprised. Wufei echoed Duo's stunned statement. Heero waved away the reactions.   
"Come on. We should get back to the safehouse before someone recognizes us as pilots." He spun on his heel to lead them, but heard Duo ask a soft question.  
"I know why Wufei came to find me. Why did you?"  
Now was his chance to explain how he felt. When they got back to the safehouse, they could discuss it further. Duo would help him, he was certain. Though the American pilot was exuberant and rather careless at times, he'd never yet failed Heero when it mattered. So he simply said, "Because I love you." And then he walked away.  
  
Who's to say who's right or wrong  
Whose course is braver run?  
  
He must have startled Duo, he reflected as they walked along. Never had he heard DeathScythe's pilot so silent. A faint smile crossed his lips at the thought. Ironic that it took me realizing a weakness and doing my best to overcome it to take care of one of his as well. He could tell that Wufei was bringing up the rear, unconsciously turning their trek back into a straight, one-by-one line. Wufei, too, was silent. But that was a normal state for the Chinese boy who valued justice so highly, and Heero paid little attention to it. Instead, he briefly wondered how much courage it had taken Wufei to admit his weakness and move on, how long he'd considered asking Duo for help. Heero knew that his own admittance, while seeming easy enough, had left him nearly shaking. But wasn't J's first rule never to show weakness, even if it was there? So he hadn't dared to show what he'd felt beyond the simple statement.  
But they were partners, Heero thought. Duo would certainly be able to see past the pretense of strength and understand that inwardly he was quaking at the very idea. Duo was very nearly the other half of Heero's soul. Duo would be able to help him.  
  
Still we are, have always been,  
Will ever be as one.  
  
They reached the house, walking in. Wufei slammed the door behind them a little harder than was absolutely necessary, causing Quatre to jump. If Trowa had been as surprised as the blond boy, he showed no sign of it. Duo stared at Heero and the others for a bit, then wandered to the room he'd been sharing with the Japanese pilot without another word. Quatre and Trowa watched him go in worry, then did the same for Wufei, who stalked off to his own room with a scowl.  
"Anou . . . What happened out there, Heero? Did someone get hurt?" Quatre's sweet voice echoed through the common room, and Heero shook his head.  
"No."  
  
What is done, has been done for the best,  
Though the mist in my eyes might suggest  
Just a little confusion about what I'd lose,  
But if I started over, I know I would choose  
  
This same joy, this same sadness  
Each step of the way  
That fought me and taught me  
That friends never say . . .  
  
Heero stuffed the last item in his bag, then looked over at Duo, who'd been uncharacteristically quiet for the last two days. The Japanese pilot had been a little surprised at just how quiet Duo could be when he was mulling over something in his mind. Duo, for his part, had avoided both Heero and Wufei, seeming to need the time alone for once. And Heero, deciding that Duo must be startled that Heero was willing to learn from him, allowed him the time. He noticed Wufei skulking about near Duo almost all the time, but paid little attention to it. It would work itself out with the three of them trying, he had no doubt.  
But now, it was finally time to confront Duo. With a mission only a few hours away, the air between them needed to be cleared so that they could all operate at maximum efficiency. So Heero spoke into the silence, his nasal voice harsher than he'd intended.  
"What are you going to do, Duo?" Duo looked up, a deer in headlights. Obviously he hadn't expected a frontal verbal assault and was unprepared. "You have to do something, of course. Otherwise, we're all going to be distracted."  
"Do?" Duo echoed quietly, still looking stunned. Heero started to answer, only to be cut off as Wufei spoke up from the door.  
"Who are you going to choose?" That idea floored Heero, who hadn't considered until this moment that a choice was involved, beyond whether or not to help the other two pilots through unfamiliar territory. Wufei must know more about this than Heero had first thought.  
Duo paled slightly, looking between the two for a long minute before sinking down onto the mattress that had been his bed in this hellhole. "Who am I going to choose?" he mused, head held in his hands as he sighed in thought. "I have no idea, Wufei."  
"You have to make a choice, Maxwell." Heero noted the use of the last name absently, recalling that when Wufei had whispered his confession, he'd used Duo's first name.  
"Yeah, I know," Duo sighed, finally looking back up at them. "But . . . ya caught me so suddenly, ya know? Both of ya. I've been thinkin', and I'm just not real sure what I'm going to do yet. But . . . whatever I do decide, I'll let both of ya know. I won't disappear without sayin' goodbye. Okay?"  
  
(Say goodbye) Never say goodbye.  
(Never say goodbye) Never say goodbye.  
(Never say goodbye, Say goodbye) Never say goodbye.  
(Say goodbye) Never say goodbye.  
  
Wufei nodded at the words, but Heero was stunned by the thought. Duo might leave him? That idea had never occurred to the Wing pilot, and now he sank down on his own bed, silently trying to accept the idea. Hadn't it been Duo who'd told him that friends weren't supposed to say goodbye? He'd thought so, but he wasn't so certain anymore.  
"We need to go." The three of them looked up at Trowa's brief statement, then nodded. The pilot of HeavyArms was right. They needed to go. There was a war to be fought, and it wouldn't wait for Duo to make a simple decision. Heero rose, glancing at the other two before grabbing his small duffle and heading out. After a moment, he heard the other two follow.  
  
Suddenly, that isn't true.  
There's another avenue  
Beckoning, the great divide.  
I would choose . . .  
  
There were too many Mobile Suits, Heero realized as they were surrounded. There were reinforcements coming from all sides, until the five had little chance of getting out of this circle. He stared at the enemies surrounding him, then realized something. He had to help them all. It was another suicide mission. And he was intelligent enough to realize, too, that it was up to him. The others could save the world if he saved them. With Duo as one of their number, he had no choice.  
"There's too many of them," came Quatre's worried voice over the radio.  
"Damn straight there's too many of 'em. But Shinigami'll take 'em all out for ya," Duo crowed. At the idea of Duo locked into a suicide run just to save the others, Heero flinched. He couldn't let Duo do that. He had to make a choice. And he would choose to die, if it meant that Duo and the others might live. This was his newfound strength.  
"No," he said harshly. "I'll clear a path. All of you follow me." And then, as an afterthought he added, "Wufei, you bring up the rear." Because Wufei would understand. Somehow, Heero knew that.  
"Hai," they chorused, following his lead. But Heero thought he detected a waver in Duo's voice as it crackled through the speaker.  
  
This same joy, this same sadness  
Each step of the way  
That fought me and taught me  
That friends never say . . .  
  
The fighting was fast and furious, leaving Heero little time to think. But even as he blasted away at the hundreds of targets coming at him, he realized that Duo still had a choice. Because Heero was no longer willing to sacrifice himself quite so blithely as before. He would survive this, and he would force Duo to make a decision. Wufei, or him. Chinese or Japanese. Love or love. And he would survive for one simple reason, a reason that Duo had drilled into his head.  
Because friends never say goodbye.  
  
(Say goodbye) Never say goodbye.  
(Never say goodbye) Never say goodbye.  
(Never say goodbye, Say goodbye) Never say goodbye.  
(Never say goodbye) Never say goodbye.  
  
-Owari-  
  
Author's Note:  
This story will have two possible sequels. The first, Trust Me, explores the idea that Duo chose Heero as his love. The second, The Panic In Me, does the same, but for the choice of Wufei. Feel free to read both, or skip whichever one whose couple you don't like. When I conceived this story, both pairings were equally true, and at the end of this story they still are.  
The story itself, and the two sequels coming up, were written to fulfill the birthday wish of Leah. It is up to her which of the two sequels will be written first, but rest assured that they will be written.  
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LEAH!!! (Even if it IS a bit belated! ^_^;;) 


End file.
